Car-coupling



H. C. BUHOUP.

CAR COUFLING.

APPLICATION FILED M^Y1s.19|s.

@uve/141:01,

H. cv. uHoUP.

CAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I6. 1918.

k Q E MNJ H. C. BUHOUP.

CAR COUPLING.

APPLICATION man Muis. |918.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

iran STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY C. IBUHOUP, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 THE MCCONWAY & ',EORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A

CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA...

l cAnfcoUrLINe.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1c, 1920.

Application led Hay 16, 1918. Serial No. 234,896.

p useful Improvements in Car-Couplings; and

I do hereby declare the .following to be a full, clear, and exact description o f the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the construction of car vcouplers and has for its object to produce a strong, reliable and easily manufactured structure capable of withstanding great strains and well adapted to form a `quadruple shear connection with the yoke.

of a draft rigging. My invention lends it- .self to the use of the most reliable materials for withstanding the strains imparted to a car coupler in service, being capable ofbeing formed in large part of wrought iron which, when well worked, is free from holes and internal flaws impossible of elimination from castings even with the best foundry ractice.

Genera ly stated, the principal feature of the invention consists 1n forming the car coupler with a stem member having at its rear end oppositely disposed rearwardly divergent faces and provided with a centrally disposed perforated lug extending rearwardly beyond said inclined faces and adapted to bear against the forward follower of a cushioning device mounted in thel yoke of a draft rigging, a plurality of bars being rigidly secured to the stem in contact with the inclined faces thereof and having their rear ends spaced from the perforated lug of the stem and perforatedto correspond thereto, the said bars being attached to the coupler head member of the structure forwardly of the said stem member.

There are minor features of invention residing in particular combinations and in structural form of elements, .all as will hereinafter more fully appear.

-In the drawings illustrating the invention, the scope whereof is pointed' ut in the claims,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car coupler embodying the invention, showing also a portion of an attached draft yoke and the forward follower of a cushiomng unit.

but showing the tail pin Fig. 2 is a plan view of illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1, but illustrating a modified form of thev inventlon.

Fig. 4 is'a plan view of the construction shown 1n Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail view, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing the preferred form of means for connecting the coupler to, the draft yoke.

F1g. 6 1s a view corresponding to Fig. 5, retainer in another the construction position. Flg. 7 1s a detail perspective view of the tail p1n retainer.

Fig. 8 is a detail elevation of a modified form of tail pin retainer.

Fig. 9 is a detailelevation of another modified form of tail pin retainer. The car coupler construction illustrated in Figs.v l and 2 involves a stem member l interposed between a plurality of bars or plates 2 upon the forward ends of which in advance of the stem member a coupler head member is pivotally mounted by means of a pivot p1n4. -The stem member l is preferably of cast steel, while the bars 2 are preferably of wrought iron.

The drawings show a well known form of mechanism for centering the coupler; but this particular mechanism, which is fully described in the patent of William Kelso, No. 950,485, granted March 1, 1910, forms no part of the present invention.

Toward its rear end the upper and lower faces of the stem member 1 are inclined, as at 5, 5, diverging rearwardly. Formed on the stem member and extending rearwardly beyond its inclinedfaces is a centrally disposed lug 6 which is perforated to receive a tail pin 7 pivotally connecting the draft yoke 8 to the coupler. The rear end of the lug', which is preferably curved to allow for the swinging of the coupler with respect to the yoke, is adapted to bear against the thus substantially reforward follower 9 of a cushioning device yoke 8.

perforated'to vreceive the pin or bolt 4 by -which the coupler head member 3 is attached 4pivot pm 7, as also are the forward ends of the arms of the yoke. To allow clearance for pivotal movement the end vfaces 13 of the yoke arms may be spaced from \the neighboring vertical faces of the stem member 1, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. p

'Except for a difference in the mode of securing the coupler head member to the bars 2, the construction illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 is the same as that already described, and accordingly corresponding reference characters have been applied to the corresponding featuresof construction. In Figs. 3 and 4 is shown the preferred manner of rigidly connecting` the coupler head member to the bars 1. As there illustrated the coupler head member 14 is provided with a shank extending between the bars 2 and secured thereto by rivets 15.

The forging work required on wrought iron used in the practice of my invention is not difficult; and it will be observed that the -strains communicated to the bars 2 f'rom the draft yoke 8 during pulling tend to clamp said bars against the stem member 1, thus somewhat'reducing the strain required to be borne by the rivets.

The tail pin 7 for pivotally connecting the coupler to the draft yoke 8 has been illustrated as removable from below. This is desirable in passenger cars because otherwise the coupler cannot be renewed without taking down the entire draft rigging. If the pin is held by a nut at its upper end, rust and' dirt soon render it practically impossible of removal, especially in view of its inaccessibility on the car. 'A cotter or split key passing though the upper end of the tail pin is objectionable for the same reasons and, in addition, is unsafe because of soon rusting through and allowing the pin to drop out.

In my construction, which is especially suited for application-to passenger cars, the tail pin 7 is preferably bifurcated at its upper end to receive a slotted pin retaining member 16 which is movably mounted on the pin 7 by means of a pin 17. The pin 17, which passes through the tail pin 7 and through the slot in the retaining member 16, may be securely maintained in position by being made a driving fit and having its ends slightly upset if desired.

As best shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 the pin retaining member 16 is preferably formed with a central notch or groove 18 in which,

as shown in Fig. 5, the pivot 17 normally rests.

cidentally disengaged from the pivot f 17 when the device is in service.

The groove or notch 18 is the means for initially preventing accidental displacement of the retaining member 16; but if such displacement should occur the weightV of the tail pin 7 acting upon one or th( other of the inclines 19 would exert upon the retaining member a force acting to restore it to normal position. In orden/Tte prevent loss of the tail plin, if by any chance the obstacles of the note` 18 and inclines 19 both should be overcome, the upper, prefe 4ably straight, portions 20 of the ends o l the retaining member preferably extend a greater distance from the corresponding ends of the slot in the retaining member than do the lower, preferably rounded, portions 21 of the ends of said retaining member. B this means, as will be seen from 6, the upper end portions 20 of the retaining member are adapted to engage the edge of the hole in the coupler in Which the tail pin 7 fits, thus preventing accidental escape of the tail pin. The lower corners of the retaining member 16 are rounded, as at 21, to allow it to be turned to a vertical position. yThe width of the member 16 is such that when in vertical position it comes within the exterior lines of the tail pin 7, hence permitting the latter to be freely removed downwardly, carrying the member- 16 with it. The tail pin has sufficient endwise movement to allow the retaining member to be rotated to releasing position.

The slotted retainingmembers illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 are mounted in the bifurcated upper end of the tail pin 7 by the plivot 17 in the manner heretofore described.

ach of them when rotated into parallelism with the tail pin permits the latter to be withdrawn downwardl In the construction slsiown in Fig. 8 the retaining member 22 is provided with oppositely disposed central notches 23 corresponding in form and function to the notches or grooves 18, and is provided with two sets of inclines 24 corresponding to the inclines 19 and extending outwardly from the respective notches. i The ends 25 of the retainingA member 22 are continuously rounded concentric with the neighboring ends of the slotwhich receives the pin 17 the straight portions 2O of the retaining member 16 being removed. As thus formed the retaining member 22 cannot be improperly assembled with the pivot pin 7.

The retaining member 26 shown in Fig. 9 is removable from but one side of the pin 7. It is formed with a slot 27 to receive the `sert his fin 1,sss,9so

pivot 17 the lower wall 28 of the slot being inclined t9 coperate with the pivot 17 in `the manner already described with respect to the inclines 19 of the member 16. At one end this retaining member is formed with a straight portion 29 corresponding in form, location and function to the straight portions 20, and it is rounded, as at 30, to permit it to be rotated to a -position allowing the pivot pin 7 to be removed. For convenience of manipulation the retaining member 26 is preferably provided with an opening 31 into which the trainman or repair man may inger to turn the retaining member to the position permitting removal of the tail pin.

' I claim:

1. A'car coupler involving a stem member having oppositely disposed rearwardly divergent inclined faces and a perforated lug extending rearwardly beyond said inclined faces, a plurality of bars rigidly secured to said stem member and respectively contacting the corresponding inclined faces of said stem member, said bars extending rearwardly beyond said inclined faces and being spaced from the perforated lug of the stem member and being respectively provided with openings in alinement with the openin in said perforated lug, a coupler head, an means for attaching said coupler head t0 said bars.

2. A car coupler involving a stem member having oppositely disposed rearwardly divergent inclined faces and a perforated lug extending rearwardly beyond said inclined faces, a plurality of bars rigidly secured to said stem member and'respectively contacting the corresponding inclined faces thereof, sald bars extendingforwardly beyond said stem member and extending rearwardly beyond said inclined faces and being spaced from said perforated lug of the stem member and being respectivel provided with openings in alinement witli the opening in said perforated lug, a cou to said bars in advance o the forward end ler head attached of said 'stem member, and means for attaching said coupler head to said bars. y

3. A car coupler involving a stem member having oppositely disposed rearwardly divergent faces and a perforated lug at its rear end, a plurality of bars rigidly secured to opposite sides of said stem member, the front ends of said bars extending forwardly beyond the said stem-member, the rear ends of said bars being spaced from said perforated lug of the stem member and being respectively provided with openin s in alinement withthe opening in said perforated lug, the said stem member extending rearwardly beyond said bars, a coupler head, and means for securing said coupler head t0 said bars.

4. A car coupler involving a stem member having at its rear end oppositely disposed inclined faces and a perforated lug, a plurality of bars rigidly secured to said stem member, said bars extending forwardly beyond the said stem member and being perforated at both ends, the rear ends of said bars being spaced from said perforated lug of the stem member and being respectivel provided with openings in alinement wit the opening in said perforated lug.

.5. A car coupler` involving a cast metal stem member having op ositely disposed rearwardl divergent incllned faces and a perforate lug extendin rearwardly beyond said inclined faces, a p urality of wrought metal bars rigidly secured to said stem member and respectively contacting the corresponding inclinedfaces thereof, said bars extending forwardly beyond said stem member and extendin rearwardly beyond said inclined faces an being spaced from said perforated lug of the stem and bein respectively rovided with openings in a inement with t e opening in said perforated lug, a coupler head pivotally mounted on said bars in advance of said stem member, and means for pivotally attaching said head to said bars.

In testimony whereof I aiiix m signature.

-HARRY C. B HOUP. 

